If you’ve ever bartended, you know that the job comes with a unique set of joys, and a few unavoidable nightmares. Endless tickets, walk-in coolers, smashing things in frustration… we teamed up with experiential firm Red Velvet to put a fun twist on these relatable struggles during Tales of the Cocktail 2025 in New Orleans. Our crew had a blast building some highly interactive, very hands-on and slightly chaotic elements for this brand activation at House of Blues. The goal? Let bartenders blow off steam, laugh at themselves, and walk away with some seriously coveted merch.

Ticket Terror: Paper Everywhere

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Let’s start with the stuff of service industry nightmares. Ticket Terror was a cacophony of chaos: walls covered in hundreds of bar receipts, plus over a dozen printers continuously cranking out more tickets. Every bartender knows the horror of being “in the weeds,” watching (and hearing) a printer relentlessly spit out orders. This space was simultaneously terrifying, mesmerizing, and totally photo-worthy…and therefore absolutely worth every single receipt we painstakingly attached during fabrication.

The Tip Out: Money Grab Madness

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Next up: The Tip Out, a money grab booth where speed (and a little luck) paid off. Grabbed cash could be exchanged for hats, Yeti coolers, and bomber jackets that said “I’ll Have a Tito’s & Vodka.” (If you’ve ever bartended, you know this joke–it’s a universal classic.) The energy at this station? Electric. It was pure fun, with everyone cheering each other on as cash flew everywhere.

Walk-In (Scream) Cooler: Therapy with a Twist

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Every service industry pro has the occasional secret scream (or cuss… or cry) in the walk-in cooler during a stressful shift. We turned this private tantrum into a public experience. Just like in a real bar or restaurant, guests could step inside the Walk-In (Scream) Cooler we built, slam the door, and let it out. A camera recorded the catharsis while a screen and decibel meter outside showed the whole venue exactly how much the screamer had bottled up inside. It was hilarious, relatable, and oddly satisfying to see bartenders embrace the stress relief in this uniquely familiar way.

Smash Station: Pummel Your Problems

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For those who needed a more physical outlet, the Smash Station was a huge hit. A cast acrylic box with integrated sand blasting gloves let participants absolutely wail on old computer parts with a mallet. We also cleverly installed a camera inside the box so folks could take home video proof of the glorious destruction along with their hard-earned merch. This activation was messy, fun, and thoroughly satisfying–a true hands-on experience that perfectly captured the event’s playful, slightly rowdy energy!

Safety Meetings: A Familiar Ritual

While we weren’t involved in this particular element of the event, it’s worth mentioning its sneaky brilliance. Randomly throughout the event, the music and lights would shift, “safety officers” would appear, and trays of drinks were passed around. Everyone in service knows that when someone calls a “Safety Meeting,” it’s time for secret shots with your comrades. This spot-on surprise was yet another perfect nod to bartender culture that kept energy high and smiles wide.

Hospitality Meets Play

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At its core, this event was all about taking care of the people who take care of everyone else. Red Velvet’s design tapped directly into service industry culture, giving bartenders ways to decompress and engage in humor only they would fully understand. Whether it was hustling hard for flying tip money, screaming in a walk-in, or smashing objects with gleeful abandon, every activation was immediately recognizable and incredibly satisfying to interact with.

From start to finish, our Downtown FabWorks crew had a blast building and installing these stations. The attention to detail, the humor in every element, and the seamless integration of experiential design and fabrication made this one of the most memorable brand activations we’ve ever been part of. And if there’s one thing we love, it’s building things that people get excited to experience–and then watching them absolutely lose it!

Our takeaway from Tales of the Cocktail 2025? Hospitality isn’t just about service. It’s also about letting loose, having fun, and creating shared moments that people remember long after the last pour.

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